Thank you to everyone who spoke up during public testimony on the budget in House Finance last week. I need to hear from you in order to do my job, and I was incredibly impressed with the straight-forward, intelligent, and passionate comments that...

Each session, the Legislature’s biggest responsibility is to pass a budget for the State of Alaska. The House Budget Subcommittees - which examine the details of each department budget - have finished their budget recommendations. I serve as Chair o...

Let’s talk about the prospects of this year’s legislative session and budget deliberations as they relate to the AMHS. Our ferry system has been at the forefront of many legislative conversations: On the very first day of the Alaska State Leg...

The Alaska State Legislature began its 2020 session on January 21st. Last Friday, the Legislature held a joint session to vote on overriding two of Governor Dunleavy’s vetoes of House Bill 2001 from August of 2019. The Legislature had five days once...

As the House Representative for District 36, I’m writing to update you on some of the issues currently before the Alaska State Legislature. The 2019 legislative sessions were challenging – we continued to grapple with creating the budget, imp...

As many of you know, the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) service to the port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia (B.C.) ended on October 1st. Although that ferry route is no longer running, there are ongoing developments in hopes of restoring...

Representative Ortiz visited Prince Rupert, British Columbia (B.C.) this week to meet with Canadian officials. He met with Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Blake Ward Chief Financial Officer for Prince Rupert Corinne Bomben, Member of...

On Monday, August 19th, Governor Dunleavy released his full list of Special Session budget vetoes. The Alaska Legislature passed two special session budget bills in July with the primary intention of restoring the Governor’s original vetoes and prote...

As the District 36 Representative, my primary assignment now in the Legislature is to serve as the Vice-Chair on the House Finance Committee. In that duty, I traveled to Juneau, Anchorage, Wasilla, and Fairbanks between July 15-18 in order to hear...

The Alaska State Legislature adjourned last week, but before adjourning, the most significant accomplishment was the agreement to transfer $10.5 billion from the Earnings Reserve Account (ERA) to the Corpus of the Permanent Fund. For the majority of...

Earlier this month, the House passed House Bill 49, which is a collaborative bill between the House, the Senate, and the Governor’s administration to improve public safety. After the Conference Committee process last week, the Senate passed the b...

As the State of Alaska grapples with our current fiscal situation, legislators are considering ways to balance the budget while protecting our savings and preserving the PFD. I urge my colleagues to focus on an important part of the discussion: oil t...

Last week, Governor Dunleavy unveiled his amended budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2020. As expected, there were substantial cuts to government agencies, all of which will affect Southern Southeast. Some of the cuts that will be most noticeable here...

During session, the Alaska State Legislature passed multiple bills that affect our senior citizens. It is the duty of the legislature to protect and serve all citizens. In my time in office, I have made it a priority to try to protect the interests o...

Funding for Alaska’s schools is one of the most important pieces of our state budget. Yet, each year, school funding gets caught in the crossfire of budget debates and ends up being one of the last measures passed by the Alaska Legislature. The d...

Governor Walker submitted a budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year. The proposed budget includes a direct increase of $34 million in Public Safety Investments, funding for Medicaid, health care reform strategies, and deferred maintenance projects...

The Alaska Marine Highway System needs forward funding. I don’t think I need to say it twice. If money is allocated to the AMHS for its future expenses, the AMHS can properly plan sailings which would: capture revenue from tourists (including t...

Last week, I wrote a letter to the editor outlining specific funds in the capital budget allocated to southern Southeast Alaska. District 36 fortunately received millions of dollars for local infrastructure projects. That being said, the state’s o...

If legislators do not pass a budget within the regular legislative session, they should not receive legislative per diem during the subsequent special session. Alaskans for Integrity – a group founded by one independent lawmaker, one Democratic l...

Later this week, the Legislature will convene for its third (and hopefully very brief) special session to pass a capital budget. Negotiations with the Senate have been completed and I’m confident that a compromised version of the capital budget w...

As the fisheries industry continues to expand and Wrangell’s Marine Service Center’s services demand increases, I believe Wrangell’s economy has nowhere to go but up. However, to accommodate this growth, the state must maintain their services in Wr...